Mobile Computing News, Reviews, & Tips

Notebook News: Gateway Introduces New Notebooks

Gateway recently released a variety of new notebooks. The 5.25-pound 3018GZ, the lightest in the group, has a suggested retail price of less than $1000. The 7320GZ and 7422GX desktop replacements weigh 8.65 pounds each and cost $1199 and $1399, respectively. All of Gateway's new models feature built-in 802.11g wireless chips.

Notebook News: Latest PowerBooks Feature Hard-Drive Protection

Apple Computer's newest PowerBooks include the Sudden Motion Sensor, a technology designed to help protect the Mac portable's internal hard drive.

"Our system senses if the PowerBook has been dropped and parks the disk drive's heads and locks them before the PowerBook hits the floor," says David Russell, Apple's senior director of portables and wireless.

In addition, Apple bumped up its high-end PowerBook processor to a 1.67-GHz G4 chip and added faster graphics, hard drives, and DVD burners to its line. The new models also support Bluetooth 2.0, a faster version of the short-range wireless standard. Prices are $100 to $200 less than previous models, the company says.

Notebook Review: Sleek, Simply Elegant Micro Express CL5620

The Micro Express CL5620 ($1549) offers top performance in a sleek, elegant chassis, says PC World reviewer Carla Thornton. Noteworthy features include a beautiful 15-inch display with a high resolution of 1400 by 1050; a reasonable weight of 6.3 pounds, excluding the power adapter; an extra-firm keyboard with programmable application launch buttons; built-in Wi-Fi and FireWire; and more.

For pricing, go to the manufacturer's Web site.

Gadget News: HP's Digital Pen Talks to Nokia Phones

I'll spare you the obvious James Bond/Dick Tracy references and get right to the point: HP and Nokia have teamed up to deliver an ink pen that digitally records what you're writing by taking 100 pictures per second. Via Bluetooth, you send the information from the pen to a Bluetooth-enabled wireless phone, and from there to your company's server. The goal is to allow health care, manufacturing, financial services, and government workers to quickly fill out and transmit electronic forms. The pen is available from Nokia's Web site for about $199. For more details, read "HP, Nokia Mobilize the Digital Pen."

Gadget News: PlayStation Fans--Mark Your Calendar

The big news in portable gadgets this spring is likely to be the North American debut of Sony's PlayStation Portable ($250). Scheduled to ship March 24, the much-anticipated portable version of Sony's popular PlayStation weighs just under 10 ounces, has a 4.3-inch color display, and features 802.11b Wi-Fi for interactive gaming on a wireless network.

Gadget News: Napster on the Run

Napster has introduced its Napster To Go service, providing music fans with unlimited tunes downloaded to compatible MP3 players and computers for $15 a month. Unlike other music downloading services, such as Apple's ITunes, you can download all the tunes you want with Napster To Go for one monthly fee. When you stop paying for the Napster service, the music stops. Napster also offers the option of buying individual songs for 99 cents each.

Suggestion Box

Is there a particularly cool mobile computing product or service I've missed? Got a spare story idea in your back pocket? Tell me about it.

Sign up to have the Mobile Computing Newsletter e-mailed to you each week.